Category: Americas

Dependency Theory in 21st Century China and Latin America

Published August 28, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

As China increases its foothold in Latin America, observers question whether China’s involvement is for better or worse. Dependency theory is one way of answering those questions. While the oppression identified in dependency theory is typically associated with the US and Europe, China is a rising global power. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is China’s new method of investing in the economies of the oppressed.

The BRI is a Chinese development initiative to establish infrastructure and stronger trade relations in countries that need it. China invests in developing countries to build roads, bridges, and ports, among other infrastructure. World Bank studies project it may create economic growth as far as lifting 32 million people out of poverty. However, it is also a way for China to insert itself into the economies of developing countries. As China builds infrastructure in developing countries, they impose debt upon them that is increasingly hard to pay due to COVID-19. As countries struggle to pay their debts, they also give up their land. Consequently, critics see this as an example of neocolonialism and debt-trap diplomacy .The BRI began with Africa and Western Asia in 2013. Now, 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are members. Most recently, Argentina joined China’s BRI in early 2022. As a result, China is now Latin America’s second largest trading partner, following the US. As Latin America is already an export-based economy, it is easy for China to profit from its resources and cheap labor. Furthermore, it provides China with a market for its booming financial technology companies as well as support for unification with Taiwan. China has seen benefits but the consequences for Latin America are debated. Skeptics point to infrastructure that has created environmental concerns, crossed borders and created conflict, and projects that remain unfinished due to unpaid debt. For example, Argentina faced significant backlash and lawsuits for allowing Chinese dam construction. Construction continued despite the damage to indigenous ancestral lands and the threat of driving wildlife to extinction. For those who believe that Latin America will suffer negative consequences, dependency theory may frame their perspective.

Dependency theory has historically pointed to Latin America as dependent on its oppressors to survive. It argues that an exploitative trade dynamic is the cause of the limited development of Latin America. Latin American economies are primarily export-based due to their cheap labor and an abundance of natural resources. They export to developed countries, particularly the US, which turn their natural resources into finished goods. Latin America is then required to purchase finished goods at the high prices set by developed countries. Due to the low earnings from exports and high costs of imports, Latin America lacks the income to develop its own economy. As a result, it is dependent on the US for the goods that sustain its economy at the cost of cheap labor. The same theory applies to China, where Latin America recently expanded its exports.

A fundamental contributor to dependency theory was Eduardo Galeano. In his most famous work, Open Veins of Latin America, he argues that Europe and the US are responsible for the economic inferiority of Latin America. For example, he argues that the American slave trade funded European development at the cost of Latin American development. The slave trade produced innovation and economic gains that set the stage for the industrial revolution in Europe. However, it had a human cost that is seen today. According to dependency theory, unpaid labor in poor conditions is the modern day slavery. Latin America must rely on conditions that are affordable rather than modernizing. Consequently, development is limited and exploitation continues. This demonstrates the remaining effects of historical power dynamics.

Although Galeano spells out the broad dynamic of oppressor and oppressed in Open Veins, it was written in 1971 before China’s sphere of influence was outspread. Open Veins describes how the world is divided into oppressor and oppressed, or developed and developing. Following Galeano’s reasoning, if Latin America is the oppressed, it necessitates that China is the oppressor. Furthermore, he explains that historical exploitation remains today. Therefore, if Latin America is already weak due to exploitation, he might argue that it would make easy prey for China. China can easily take advantage of an economy that is already export-based and fueled by cheap labor. The BRI supports Chinese development as China imports natural resources, cultivated affordably with cheap labor, in order to produce factories and financial technology. China also gains allies in its conflict with Taiwan. Eight Latin American countries have changed to support Chinese unification. Due to the dichotomy between oppressor and oppressed, Galeano would likely argue that China’s development comes at the expense of Latin America.

On the other hand, critics of dependency theory may support the BRI. One example is Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot by Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Alvaro Vargas Llosa, and Carlos Alberto Montaner. The Guide is a bitter refutation of dependency theory and Eduardo Galeano’s ideas. It ridicules dependency theorists for criticizing the US both when it provides foreign aid and when it does not. It argues that it is unfair to blame debt traps for economic inferiority when Latin America would not be able to sustain itself without foreign investments. The authors additionally point out that Galeano makes the same argument in favor of foreign investments. In Open Veins, Galeano “wonders if those who made us paralytic might offer us a wheelchair?” He therefore argues in favor of financial compensation from oppressors. The Guide concludes that if even Galeano himself would expect foreign aid, it is unfair to criticize when it is received. Moreover, the Guide attacks Galeano’s idea that the world is divided into only oppressor and oppressed. In its view, it is impossible to determine that foreign investment can only benefit one group at the expense of another. Henceforth, the Guide may argue that the BRI can benefit both Latin America and China. Its support for foreign aid suggests support for the BRI.

China’s rise in the global market demonstrates the continued relevance of dependency theory. Critics of dependency theory often argue that the success of former colonies such as India makes it irrelevant. However, it is indeed helpful in interpreting global power shifts for the present and future.

WORKS CITED

Mendoza, Plinio Apuleyo, Carlos Alberto Montaner, and Alvaro Vargas Llosa. Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot. Lanham, Md.: Madison Books, 2001.

Galeano, & Belfrage, C. (1997). Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (25th anniversary ed.). Monthly Review Press.

Zhang, Pepe. “Belt and Road in Latin America: A Regional Game Changer?” Atlantic Council, October 9, 2019. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/issue-brief/belt-and-road-in-latin-america-a-regional-game-changer/.

Roy, Diana. “China’s Growing Influence in Latin America.” Council on Foreign Relations, April 12, 2022. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-influence-latin-america-argentina-brazil-venezuela-security-energy-bri.

Business. “Argentina: Santa Cruz River Hydroelectric Complex – Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2022. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/argentina-santa-cruz-river-hydroelectric-complex/.

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Magda Portal

Published August 19, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Magda PORTAL (1900–1989) was a Peruvian socialist poet and leader of the Aprista social democratic party (APRA). She contributed to the Peruvian literary movement of the early 1900s, which advocated for indigenismo, anti-imperialism, women’s rights, and property rights. The movement was inspired by other liberation movements, such as the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) and Argentina’s University Reform Movement (1918). Her poetry incorporates romanticism with overtly socialist messages. Additionally, she wrote extensively about her own experiences, particularly exclusion from male-dominated politics.

Portal is notable as a founder of APRA, one of the oldest political parties in Latin America. With her influence, it became the first Peruvian political party to recruit women. However, she abandoned it when it shifted to the ideological center. She wrote her only novel, La Trampa, to represent her negative experiences with the party before joining Peru’s Communist Party. Although she is renowned for being a woman in leftist spheres, her writings on other issues are significant. One example of her socialist poetry is “Proletarian Song.” Its vivid imagery of manual labor expresses the necessity of class reform. Her poetry often advocated for indigenous people’s integration into the state and society as well. Furthermore, she valued unity. Her correspondence reveals her desire for Latin American unity against the imperialist United States. She saw the Mexican Revolution as the model that all Latin American countries should follow, in order to not only protect individual rights domestically, but also create ideological unity across the region.

FURTHER READING

Portal, Magda. “Magda Portal Papers,” November 29, 1913. University of Texas Libraries.

Weaver, Kathleen. Peruvian Rebel: The World of Magda Portal, with a Selection of Her Poems. Illustrated edition. University Park (Pa.): Penn State University Press, 2011.

Portal, Magda, and Daniel R. Reedy. Hope and the Sea by Magda Portal. Translated by Kathleen Weaver. Dulzorada, 2021.

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Graciliano Ramos

Published July 26, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Graciliano RAMOS (1892–1953) was a modernist writer and politician from the Brazilian northeast, one of the poorest regions in the country. He was a noted Communist and his writings feature fictional livelihoods to showcase social and political concerns. He expresses pessimism about generational suffering, illiteracy, misogyny, indigenous dehumanization, and exploitation as a fact of capitalism. Additionally, he had an impact on Brazil’s developing cinema culture.

São Bernardo and Vidas Secas are two of Ramos’s most famous works. Vidas Secas, translated as Barren Lives, is the most accessible to English readers. It details the tragic lives of a migrant family trekking through a drought in search of labor. Its central messages are that exploitation is inescapable for the lower class, suffering has a legacy, and illiteracy is disempowerment. For example, the father worries for his children’s upbringing but cannot help that they were born to labor under somebody else. Moreover, he is arrested when he does not understand the upper-class language of the charges against him. The last chapter leads into the first chapter to demonstrate the cyclical nature of helplessness.

FURTHER READING

Scott, Paulo. “Paulo Scott on Graciliano Ramos.” Asymptote Journal. Accessed July 26, 2022. https://www.asymptotejournal.com/special-feature/paulo-scott-on-graciliano-ramos/.

Ramos, Graciliano. Barren Lives: Vidas Secas. Translated by Ralph Edward Dimmick. University of Texas Press, 2011.

Ellison, Harlan. Brazil’s New Novel: Four Northeastern Masters – Jose Lins Do Rego, Jorge Amado, Graciliano, Rachel De Queiroz. Paris: Les Humanoïdes associés, 1979.

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닮음(Dalm-eum): Political Unity Among Separated Cultures

Published July 26, 2022 by Franchesca Johnson

In 1992, an uprising occurred after a jury acquitted the Los Angeles Police Department of charges related to brutally beating a young Black man named Rodney King. After the judge announced the verdict, numerous buildings were set ablaze, and upwards of 2,300 people were injured in the civil unrest that persisted for several months. Today, the public mostly remembers the event, dubbed the “1992 LA Riots,” for the ensuing chaos after that verdict. However, fewer people recognize that there were additional reasons for the event.

At age the young age of 15, while shopping for some orange juice, Latasha Harlins was shot in the back and killed by Du Soon-Ja, a Korean woman who accused Harlins of stealing from her convenience store in South Los Angeles. Allegedly, Du had threatened other children with weapons before Harlins, but this time she pulled the trigger. Two months after the incident, like the LAPD, the judiciary eventually handed Du an incredibly light sentence. Hence, many believe this judicial decision also contributed to the harsher treatment experienced by Koreatown during the riots, with reportedly increased violence, looting, and arson in the area. In particular, looters targeted Du’s store, burning it to the ground. After the chaos, it never reopened.

The 1992 LA Riots merely exemplify tensions between Korean-Americans and Black Americans that continue to manifest in the United States. For many years, some Black Americans have intentionally avoided supporting Korean-owned businesses, and some Korean American business owners have discriminated against their black patrons. However, despite the racial, cultural, and linguistic barriers between the two groups, they share quite a distinct history that would theoretically link them.

Over the past 200 years, both Korean and Black Americans have experienced tremendous oppression at the hands of hegemonic powers. For example, in the United States, white landowners enslaved millions of people of African descent through the transatlantic slave trade. These enslaved people were overworked, sexually abused, and forced to conform to a white-controlled society. Likewise, thousands of Korean and Korean Americans faced exploitation via Japanese occupation throughout the first half of the 20th century. Their Japanese oppressors forced them to abandon their Korean names, co-opted their historical artifacts, sexually enslaved their youth, and robbed them of their political autonomy. Moreover, once their controllers abandoned the established system, members of these ethnic groups were forced to pick up the pieces and rebuild. As a result, many chose to flee their homeland to seek success in other parts of the world, while others remained in familiar territory. Collectively, shared trauma continues to affect the descendants’ current circumstances negatively.

A Korean woman and child under Japanese occupation

Moreover, once their controllers abandoned the established system, members of these ethnic groups were forced to pick up the pieces and rebuild. As a result, many chose to flee their homeland to seek success in other parts of the world, while others remained in familiar territory. Holistically thinking, Koreans and African Americans share a comparable history concerning the erasure of their identities and theft of their bodily autonomy. Hence, aside from noticeable physical and social differences between the two cultures, many would assume that there is some affinity between them.

Nevertheless, a rift still manifests between the groups. A systemic socio-economic divide exists between Korean Americans and their Black American peers, furthering the perceived dissimilarity between the populations within the United States. Similarily, many Korean celebrities continue to culturally appropriate Black culture, which creates outrage and division. Some of the biggest names in the Korean popular music industry have adopted culturally insensitive hairstyles and artificial personas that mimic Black culture. Just last month, netizens exposed Jennie from Blackpink for wearing cornrows, a traditional African hairstyle with ties to chattel slavery, in a promotional advertisement for a new HBO show. Despite Blackpink being one of the most popular female groups in the world, she has encountered very few repercussions for these actions. Nonetheless, one significant similarity presents between the two divergent groups: Confucian ideology in response to exploitation.

Historically, Confucianism became integrated into Korean social structures several hundred years ago. Brought over from China in the 13th century, the ideological values of Confucianism rose to prevalence during the Joseon Dynasty. Many ideas promoted by the ideology, such as age-based hierarchy and social position, were attractive to leaders of the time. However, as a response to the rising popularity of religion, especially Buddhism, a new form of philosophy eventually became prevalent: New Confucianism. Still relying on many traditional Confucian values such as filial piety but utilizing a metaphysical-based ethical system, this specific form of Confucianism has had a lasting effect on Korean society, even today.

Particularly over the past century, Korean political thinkers have embraced Confucian ideals in response to the Japanese occupation and the discrimination that accompanied forced modernization. Kim San and other leaders criticized their oppressive system through Confucianism and a leftist perspective towards ending their rule. In addition, leaders integrated Confucian ideals into the Korean civil code even after the Japanese government’s colonial rule ended. They rebelliously employed its teachings as a rebuttal against the controlling regime that subjugated them and the Westernization policies that sought to oppress them. Thus, they adopted policies such as the prohibition of marriage between people of the same last name, which originated from the Confucian ideal that “when a man and a woman (in marriage) share the same surname, their offspring will not flourish.” Via these traditionalist policies they contested their oppressors and found a unique, hybrid political identity.

Beginning in the early 1900s, as a response to the historical subjugation of their people, many Black and Korean activists embraced Confucian ideas in their effort to combat prejudice. While rarely emphasized in American history, Chinese Confucian thought strongly influenced the fight against American racism within the Black Power movement. Many prominent Black activists like Stokely Carmichael, Fred Hampton, and George W. Woodbey saw Confucian ideals and Chinese socialism as a solution to the prejudice in the everyday lives of Black Americans.

Although Confucius never spoke on issues of race, many of these Black activists were initially drawn to his beliefs. Specifically, various thinkers utilized Confucius’s teachings in the fight against their oppressors’ support of Christianity. The Pittsburgh Courier, a prominent weekly Black newspaper, once analogized “the teaching of Confucius: ‘Do not unto others that you would not have them do to you,'” to a biblical statement of Jesus Christ:” ‘Do unto others, that you would they should do unto you.'” Drawing comparisons to the inequalities in Asia, they embraced Confucian beliefs to parallel the qualities they saw as necessary for change. For many, Confucianism’s teachings of reciprocity and hierarchal social order became integral to their philosophy for combatting racism. Essentially, “Confucian and Christian teachings represented a moral standard that white society should abide by,” and Confucius’s non-white status made it all the more attractive.

Furthermore, even those who never specifically referenced Confucius embraced the values indirectly through their affinity for Chinese political thought. For example, well-known Black activist and educator, Frederick Douglass, was “confident that the Chinese, emboldened by Confucianism, would join African Americans in resisting this new form of slavery.” He viewed Confucianism as a solution that opposed the Christian values that white racists used to subjugate and enslave Black people. Consequently, these teachings and connections became embedded within Black society and strongly influenced other Black thinkers until the 1950s. Thus, even though most people studying these historical political movements often overlook the role that Confucian thought played in shaping the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, it manifested as a rebellious and persuasive ideology among various activists.

Altogether, when considering both Black Americans and Koreans, Confucianism cannot be stripped from their political thought. For both groups, prominent leaders sought freedom from their subjugators through similar political and social ideologies. Moreover, their tools came from a similar source: Chinese Confucian thought. Fundamentally, they used such philosophy as a source of morality and inspiration, which helped them tackle oppression. Thus, even though modern political conflicts between the two groups largely obscure these similar origins, an ideological basis connects the two distinct groups.

With such connections in mind, it denotes a very distinct Korean concept called 닮음(Dalm-eum). Translated best into English as “resemblance,” dalm-eum demonstrates how these two persecuted cultures converge in their ideological history. Despite the ongoing tensions between Black Americans and people of Korean descent and systemic prejudice that manifests as a perceived division between the cultures, similar histories and political motives leave room for collaboration throughout the continual racial discrimination. Via dalm-eum, these groups have even more reason to tear down the walls between them and function alongside each other. Hence, whether through the collaboration of the “Stop Asian Hate” and “Black Lives Matter” movements or some other historical interactions, they have a political foundation to converge in solidarity toward a similar goal.

Black and Asian Solidarity Run at Union Square (2021)

WORKS CITED

Kevin N., Cawley. 2021. “Korean Confucianism.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University: Metaphysics Research Lab. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/korean-confucianism.

Suzanne, Sng. 2022. “Blackpink’s Jennie Accused of Cultural Appropriation for Having Cornrows in HBO Series the Idol | the Straits Times.” straitstimes.com, July 19, 2022. https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/blackpinks-jennie-accused-of-cultural-appropriation-for-having-cornrows-in-hbo-series-the-idol.

Yong, Chen. 2012. “The Presence of Confucianism in Korea and Its General Influence on Law and Politics.” In ¿Es El Confucianismo Una Religión? La Controversia Sobre La Religiosidad Confuciana, Su Significado Y Trascendencia. El Colegio de Mexico.

Yoon, In-Jin. 1998. “Who Is My Neighbor?: Koreans’ Perceptions of Blacks and Latinos as Employees, Customers, and Neighbors.” Development and Society 27 (1): 49–75. https://doi.org/http://www.jstor.org/stable/44396776..

Zhang, Tao. 2021. “The Confucian Strategy in African Americans’ Racial Equality Discourse.” Dao 20 (2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-021-09778-9.

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George W. Woodbey: Pioneering Black American Socialism

Published June 25, 2022 by Franchesca Johnson

In discussions of Black American activism following the emancipation of enslaved peoples in 1865, historians regularly overlook the prevalence of socialism and other progressive ideologies in shaping Black politics and Reconstruction. One Black American activist who embraced such socialist policies to do precisely this was George W. WOODBEY(1854-1937).

Born into slavery in Johnson County, Tennessee, Woodbey grew up conscious of the systems of oppression against Black Americans. However, it was not until after the Civil War that he entered politics and embraced an unconventional, socialist perspective. Latching onto the beliefs of Eugene Debs and the Socialist Party, Woodbey crafted a belief system that stressed socialism as the solution to the racism experienced within a post-slavery society. As is indicated in his novel, Black Socialist Preacher, he emphasized the necessity of eradicating “the watchdogs of capitalism”: the police. Altogether, George Woodbey was a highly influential Black socialist whose work inspired various other Black American activists and thinkers. Chiefly, his advocacy demonstrates how the African American political tradition employed socialism as a tool for tackling issues of race and labor exploitation.

FURTHER READING

George Washington Woodbey, George W Stater, and Philip Shelden Foner. 1983. Black Socialist Preacher: The Teachings of Reverend George Washington Woodbey and His Disciple, Reverend G.W. Slater, Jr. San Francisco: Synthesis Publications.

Heideman, Paul. 2018. Class Struggle and the Color Line: American Socialism and the Race Question 1900-1930. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books.

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The Chicago Boys

Published June 24, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

The Chicago Boys (1970s–1980s) were a group of Chilean economists, named for their education under Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago. They enacted extensive neoliberal reforms in Chile, such as deregulation, privatization, and strict austerity. They provided an early example of shock therapy and influenced leaders around the world, including Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

It is controversial whether or not their reforms were effective toward improving Chile’s economy. The Chicago Boys’ supporters argue that their leadership produced “the Miracle of Chile” and point to their reforms as an explanation for Chile’s present day success. For example, Chile was ranked by the Heritage Foundation as the most economically free country in Latin America as of 2022, its GDP rose greatly, and it returned to a democracy after the Chicago Boys’ influence. However, detractors point out that the rise in GDP came at the cost of a rise in wealth inequality. Additionally, these reforms were largely carried out by the military dictator Augusto Pinochet, who committed severe human rights violations in order to implement those reforms. This controversy is still vital to Chilean politics because of the Chicago Boys’ long-term impacts.

FURTHER READING

Matamala, Daniel. “The Complicated Legacy of the ‘Chicago Boys’ in Chile – ProMarket.” ProMarket, September 12, 2021. https://www.promarket.org/2021/09/12/chicago-boys-chile-friedman-neoliberalism/.

Valdés Juan J. Pinochet’s Economists: The Chicago School in Chile. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Sigmund, Paul E. “The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Boys in Chile.” SAIS Review 3, no. 2 (1983): 41-58. doi:10.1353/sais.1983.0040.

British Online Archives. “Miracle of Chile? The Legacy of the Chicago Boys | British Online Archives,” 2020. https://microform.digital/boa/posts/category/articles/378/miracle-of-chile-the-legacy-of-the-chicago-boys#_ftnref13.

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Eduardo Galeano

Published June 22, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Eduardo Galeano (1940–2014), best known for Open Veins of Latin America, was a leftist Uruguayan writer. His works are significant because they aim to tell history through the lens of the oppressed. He describes histories of oppression, both economic and cultural, in order to explain the present state of the developing world. He is widely known for his contributions to Latin American dependency theory. A dichotomy between oppressor and oppressed is a key aspect of his beliefs.

While Open Veins is Galeano’s most famous work, Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone provides a broader survey of his ideas. Mirrors includes more than 600 vignettes, each one documenting an incident or historical trend that depicts oppression. He addresses structures of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and classism. Furthermore, he references countless cultures for his stories and extends past his reputation as a theorist on Latin America. For example, he recalls Ancient China’s family structures, the development of African American jazz music, and the Turkish origin of the croissant—all written as demonstrations of oppression. Galeano’s critics argue that his stories are largely apocryphal and it is unfair to divide the world into oppressor and oppressed.

FURTHER READING

The New York Times. “Author Changes His Mind on ’70s Manifesto (Published 2014),” 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/24/books/eduardo-galeano-disavows-his-book-the-open-veins.html.

Galeano, & Belfrage, C. (1997). Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (25th anniversary ed.). Monthly Review Press.

Galeano, Eduardo, and Mark Fried. Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone. New York, NY: Nation Books, 2010.

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Dependency Theory

Published June 20, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Dependency theory (1960s–Present) is the idea that developed countries obtain their wealth at the expense of developing countries and, as a result, make developing countries unnaturally poor. Dependency theorists underline how export-based economies limit development. They explain that developing countries export raw goods to developed countries and then must purchase it back after manufacturing at a higher price, leading to dependence and impeded growth.

Open Veins of Latin America, published by Monthly Review Press

While it is applicable to many former colonies, Latin America is a common focus. Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano is a renowned example of dependency theory literature. Galeano challenges the idea that a lack of resources or innovation is the reason behind Latin America’s limited development. Rather, the cause is a history of slavery, imperialism, and exploitation. For example, he argues that the 18th century silver trade, and the slavery it accompanied, led to contemporary working conditions and ecological devastation of Latin America. Critics question the continued relevance of dependency theory due to the successful modernization of former colonies, such as India.

FURTHER READING

Galeano, & Belfrage, C. (1997). Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (25th anniversary ed.). Monthly Review Press.

Bernecker, Walther L., and Thomas Fischer. “Rise and Decline of Latin American Dependency Theories.” Itinerario 22, no. 4 (1998): 25–43. doi:10.1017/S0165115300023494.

Glennie, Jonathan. “Dependency Theory – Is It All over Now?” The Guardian, March 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/mar/01/do-not-drop-dependency-theory.

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Zitkala-Sa

Published June 20, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Zitkala-Ša (1876–1938) was an activist for indigenous and women’s rights, born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She was also known as Red Bird and Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. She played a significant role in the Society of American Indians (SAI), whose purpose was to “help Indians help themselves”. She wrote speeches, recorded tribal traditions, and collected statistical reports. Furthermore, she journaled her own experiences in an assimilation school and described its cultural suppression, but also the formative educational opportunities it provided.

Zitkala-Sa and her violin, 1898. Photo by Gertrude Kasebier, Smithsonian — Zitkala-Ša, 1898

Zitkala-Ša’s speeches and writings reached a vast audience, including with the federal government, due to her rhetorical skill. Her speeches centered around colonization and loss of property as the cause of suffering for native people. She believed self-determination, citizenship, and property rights were the key to improving conditions on reservations. Zitkala-Ša pointed to rampant sexual abuse as a long-term impact of indigenous oppression and collected studies to show the extent of the problem. Another of her commitments was to advocate against peyote, which, while being part of a native cultural tradition, also brought destruction to their communities.

FURTHER READING

Lewandowski, Tadeusz, ed. Zitkala-Sa : Letters, Speeches, and Unpublished Writings, 1898-1929. Boston: BRILL, 2017. Accessed June 18, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Zitkala-S̈a. My Life: Impressions of an Indian Childhood ; the School Days of an Indian Girl ; Why I Am a Pagan. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014.

Nps.gov. “Zitkala-Ša (Red Bird / Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) (U.S. National Park Service),” 2014. https://www.nps.gov/people/zitkala-sa.htm.

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Hispanidad, or Spanishness

Published June 9, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Hispanidad (1910s–Present), or “Spanishness”, is a Hispanic American nationalist ideology that seeks a restoration of Spanish spiritual identity. It rests upon the belief that a Catholic spiritual identity has united Latin America since the time of early Spanish missionaries. Hispanidad officials aimed to eliminate the rising Communist, secular, and anti-clerical ideas of the 20th century. Ramiro de Maeztu exemplifies Hispanidad as a prominent thinker who argued that Enlightenment thought was the source of Latin America’s weaknesses.

Francisco Franco’s fascist regime in Spain introduced the ideology into Latin America. In order to spiritually unify the region, Franco not only appointed Spaniards into Latin America’s political positions, but also invited several far-right Hispanic Americans into Spain for their input on expanding the ideology. Hispanidad likewise influenced the Philippines in both culture and government. Gradually, Latin American cultures began to associate with Latinidad instead—a unity among all Latin Americans regardless of an ethnic background. However, it remains a component of far-right ideologies.

FURTHER READING

http://filosofia.org. “Ramiro de Maeztu, La Defensa de La Hispanidad.” Filosofia.org, 2022. https://www.filosofia.org/hem/193/acc/e05449.htm.

‌BOX, ZIRA, and Wendy Gosselin. “Spanish Imperial Destiny: The Concept of Empire during Early Francoism.” Contributions to the History of Concepts 8, no. 1 (2013): 89–106.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43610933.Diffie, Bailey W. “The Ideology of Hispanidad.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 23, no. 3 (1943): 457–82. https://doi.org/10.2307/2508538.

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